Bears GM opens up about trading Justin Fields to Steelers

During Monday morning’s owners meetings, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles acknowledged to the media that the trade of quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers was “one of the hardest things I’ve had to do” in his career. “I always kind of touch on the empathy part, like having that conversation with my own son was hard,” Poles said, according to information published by The Athletic and Kevin Patra of the NFL website. “In his room, his jersey is up. Thus, it somewhat contextualizes the difficulty of certain maneuvers.”

Experts continue to predict that the Bears will make USC Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams the first pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. It now appears rumblings suggesting Poles and company didn’t want Williams and Fields sharing a quarterback room for any amount of time were accurate, as the 2021 first-round draft choice was given a fresh start over a month before this year’s draft gets underway on April 25.

“It’s really the timeline and how much runway you have,” Poles said about the Fields deal. “To get a guy up off the ground, you need to support them with as much talent as possible. Then that fits. It takes so much cap space, which is a good thing if you get to that point. But they have to be the reason you start winning. Then it’s harder to add the talent around them. You can look around the league, and it happens a lot. The teams that can sustain success through that period I think do a really special job.”

Though some have said that purported personality red flags are hanging over Williams’ situation this spring, it’s thought he’s only made an impression on Bears personnel during pre-draft visits. Polish people talked about it early on Monday. Poles said of Williams, “When you talk to his teammates, they don’t like him, they love him.” “His ability to unite people via leadership. His leadership style is deliberate. The personnel is in the same boat. Finding someone who doesn’t love him or even like him is difficult for me.”

It appears from every angle that the Bears selecting Williams first overall in the NFL is now just a formality. It remains to be seen if Fields will eventually demonstrate that his previous team erred, but it is obvious that the Bears have already moved on to their next quarterback.